Adaptive Bit Rate (ABR) technology is emerging as a popular media technology to support Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) services for broadband users. An approach to provide broadband services to multi-dwelling unit (MDU) users is to extend a passive optical network connection to the boundary of a MDU and then distribute the broadband services over physical connections that are specific to the MDU in a broadcast nature. In this respect, IPTV services can be served on a subscriber data network that is configured in a tree topology, with the network rooted at a root node (e.g., at an optical line terminator (OLT)) and branching out to cable media converters (CMCs) via a passive optical distribution network, and further to gateways (GWs) that serve leaf devices such as set-top boxes and other operably-connected computing devices (e.g., personal computers and mobile devices) via a coax cable distribution network.
The CMCs and GWs can cache unique ABR video streams, including streams that carry the same video program but have different bit rates. However, this approach can pose significant inefficiencies across the optical and cable distribution networks if MDU users experience different bandwidth availability and have different video-processing capabilities.